One Dragon To Rule Them All
by Ragingstillness
Summary: Kiso is an extraordinary duelist who thinks he's anything but. Setsuka is the teenage CEO of Kaibacorp, the largest holographic gaming software company in the country. Circumstances none of them could imagine, white dragons, and ripped playing cards are just some of the twists littering the path of their destined love.
1. Chapter 1

The glacial nail rose from the table, floating into the air, pausing for a single millisecond, then reversed direction and impacted against the mahogany table with an audible clack. It repeated the action monotonously, conveying all too clearly the skepticism of its owner.

The man at the other end of the table swallowed hard, his fingers clenching around the end of a pointer he was gently tapping against a presentation screen. He cleared his throat, trying to ignore the continuous sound and avoid the equally azure eyes of the nail's mistress.

"A-as you can see Madame President, this new wiring of the duel disk will eliminate the need to release projection disks from the sides of the arm piece, decreasing the potential for injury and allowing duels to take place in closer quarters. Therefore, they could happen in areas that wouldn't inconvenience the public."

The nail paused and creamy shoulders rolled under black leather. The other men around the table glanced furtively at each other but stayed silent. The head of the table spoke up.

"Quite an idea."

Each of the words were punctuated with the smallest of pauses. She wasn't smiling.

However, when the presenter's colleague met his eyes, an undercurrent of hope passed through the two men. Taking the signal to escape while he still had it, the presenter took the moment to bow to the head of the table and stuffing his presentation materials into his bag.

With a wave of that perfectly manicured hand, he was dismissed. He took the cue without complaint, rushing out of the room with his coworkers. At the head of the table, cruel red lips curved into a razor thin smirk.

The young woman leaned back in her office chair, gesturing her hand around the table to allow her staff's input. Most of them supported the idea, so many actually, that she almost wondered if her mask was cracking and they were only this supportive because they knew she was in favor of it.

The only problem the group came up with, one she had already been considering, was the issue of allowing the presenter's company in on their hologram technology. The company was small and could be bought out if not for their state-of-the-art lab facilities. Industry rumor had it that progress in the lab almost half a year ahead of her own labs, a status which she could not allow to continue.

She was reluctant to place so much responsibility in someone else's hands, but with the lab's progress the small company was simply too dangerous for her not to absorb. She needed to put her claim on them as quickly as possible without completely ridding them of their autonomy. Time was of the essence though because if any other company swiped them off the table, her company could be in trouble.

Thankfully industry rumor had also gifted her with rumblings that the head scientists of that other lab worshipped her. In honor of that and the singular circumstances of the outside lab, she had relaxed her usual intimidating aura for this meeting.

Several of her department heads were throwing around the pros and cons when she sighed loudly. They immediately shut up.

She sighed again and set a hand to her forehead.

"We have to go in on this deal with BlackOps Hologram."

One of her staffers spoke up bravely.

"But Madame President, that gives them so much power…"

She gave him a rare head tilt.

"I know, Mr. Karatuchi. But they are too dangerous, we have to snap them up. I absolutely hate to say it, but we have little choice."

Mr. Karatuchi of the engineering department mentally nodded. He trusted the President's judgment and if he was completely honest with himself, she was right.

The staff sighed and stood, resigned to the decision. They vacated the room quickly, leaving the president alone.

Once the room was clear, she leaned her elbows on the table, taking a moment to rest her chin on top of her interlaced fingers. She closed her eyes. Images and faces raced through her head, connected loosely to trailing words and phrases, her work for the day.

Her sister Mokubo had a test tomorrow that she was going to spend the entire afternoon studying for, so there was little reason to come home early. Mokubo had already assured her that she didn't need help, even going as far as to claim her older sister's presence would distract her.

A tiny, genuine smile curved the President's lips. Mokubo had lied, but it was just a white lie, hiding her true desire to prepare for the test without help as well as her knowledge of how busy her older sister's work got during this season. No doubt Mokubo was well aware of how deep the grooves under her eyes went, behind the makeup.

She stood from the table and took a rare pause to rest her hand against the cold bullet-proof glass of the window, looking down at the peons below.

It wasn't always easy being Setsuka Kaiba.

Page break~

Kiso buttoned the school uniform shirt with difficulty. They were mass produced for entire schools worth of kids, so quality control wasn't always top priority. In his case, the problem was the button holes. They weren't quite big enough and he had to really shove the gold buttons through the blue fabric, hoping sheer force would somehow make it work. Sadly, sheer force was not something Kiso generally had in spades and especially when the work required such precision.

Eventually he did manage to get the shirt on, pulling out the wrinkles in front of the mirror. His mother's voice called from downstairs, so he gave his reflection one last weak smile before rushing down the stairs, bag already in hand. She handed him his lunch with a smile and a kiss that he barely squirmed out of, her laugh the accompaniment that followed him out the door.

The name of the school loomed large in his head: Domino had known he would be attending the well-known school in the fall of his third year but it didn't make the transition from his previous school in England any easier.

It wasn't as though the school was prestigious, it was just renowned as a school frequented by some of the greatest duelists of the time. From Katsu Jounochi to the Duel Queen herself, Yui Mouto, the school was hopping. Not to mention that whenever work didn't take a higher priority, the school was also rumored to host Setsuka Kaiba, the dragon princess.

Kiso had grown up following the dueling world, as he was a reasonable duelist himself, but other than possessing a few powerful cards, he was nowhere near the level of those duelists. They were masters of the game, women steeped so deeply in mystery that their duels almost seemed to be visited by ancient magic. Kiso had never met any of them face to face but he feared he may have to, after recently winning The Queen's Tournament in England.

He had snatched first from the previous year's champion by the seat of his cotton pants, with a last resort strategy that had somehow worked. Everyone he had met after the win saw it as skill, but Kiso knew it had just been chance.

This hadn't kept him from being elated of course, but now that he was considering the possibility of having to run into the world's greatest duelists who certainly would come with their expectations of him, he almost regretted winning at all. He wasn't special, he just had good cards and lots of practice.

Before he even realized it, his stumbling footsteps had led him up the steps of Domino High, a silver metal building with nearly endless windows he had already seen many times online and in his honest opinion didn't look like much more than it had then.

Kiso stopped on the top step, out of the way of the other almost identical students walking in. He looked up at the school, eyes trailing up the length of the building all the way to the top of the clock tower. He took a deep breath, then lowered his head and walked into the school, short blue-white hair whisking the back of his slender neck.

 **Author's note: Special thanks to ObeliskX for suggesting this story. You've been so patient with me, thank you so much. I hope you all enjoy my first attempt at writing a genderbend of yugioh. Please let me know how I did and, as always, please R &R. **


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two:

Kiso stumbled into the door to his bedroom, his head thumping against the frame before his hand even found the knob. His mother called up from the floor below, asking if he was OK. Normally he would have responded normally, but the day had been so much that he really just needed to process it all. So he gave her a throw-away answer. He'd regret that later.

Pale fingers, growing infinitesimally paler by the second, fumbled over the smooth copper surface of the doorknob, opening the door in a few jerky motions. Kiso swung the door closed behind him in a fit of emotion, then just barely caught it before it slammed against the frame. His mother would notice, and he still didn't quite feel up to speaking to anyone right now.

Setting the door in its frame with a soft click, Kiso further tripped over his own feet to his bed, finally collapsing on the bedspread. His backpack flew up with the motion and hit him in the head but all he could manage was a soft moan. He flopped to the right, slumping so the backpack pillowed his head even as it chafed under his arms.

His eyes stared at the ceiling, seeing nothing. Faces began to shift through his mind: a girl with wild tricolor hair, holding out her hand to shake his; a mass of blonde hair shaking as another girl laughed; then finally a flash of vibrant sapphire eyes, shaded greatly by the young woman's height and a shock of auburn hair.

Kiso almost pinched himself.

The craziness had begun the minute Kiso entered the building and just took a couple steps into the hallway. The girl with the tricolor hair had stuck out from the crowd immediately, and not just because she was surrounded by a little pack of friends. Kiso tried to duck away but they both had the similar afflictions of all-too-noticeable hair and the girl picked him out in an instant.

She called out to Kiso by name and when he tried childishly to run the taller blonde girl standing right next to her reached out and plucked Kiso from between several other students. He coughed at the grip on his collar and had to submit.

When he finally got his breath back he looked up, right into an adorable pair of large purple eyes. The girl giggled at his shocked expression and held out her hand, as though they were just acquaintances meeting on the street.

"Hi, I'm Yui Mouto. You're Kiso Mertas right?"

Kiso shook the hand, hoping she couldn't notice how he was shaking in the presence of such a famous duelist.

"Y-yeah. That's me. It's nice to meet you Miss Mouto."

Yui opened her mouth to speak but her blonde friend from earlier jumped in and grasped Kiso's hand in a tough grip with more calluses than he expected.

"Katsu Jounochi, nice to meet 'cha!"

Kiso's eyes opened even wider. He was meeting two of the best duelists of all time, and just in the first two minutes of stepping into the school.

He pumped Katsu's hand once then stepped back, running his fingers through his hair.

"Wow. You guys are…geez…really cool."

Yui blushed a little and Kiso thought he might melt on the spot. Her little gold bangs flopped slightly into her eyes as she turned her head away. Kiso marveled at the contrast to how fierce Yui looked when she dueled, a red light coming into her eyes, and her fingers bending into almost violent contortions with the force of setting her cards down. Here in person she was still intimidating, but more like a human than a dueling monster.

The boy and girl behind Yui came up and introduced themselves as Azaki Misu and Haruka Hori respectively. Azaki was a kind looking guy that looked unassuming, but became more and more passionate as the conversation moved on and Yui continued to talk. Almost subconsciously Kiso made sure not to stare at Yui too much. He wasn't stupid.

Haruka was a sweet girl too, if a little quick to speak and not to think. To Kiso's delight, he could see himself becoming friends with them, that is if he ever got over how starstruck he was.

The small group continued to prattle on, occasionally ignoring Kiso in their own inside jokes and tight-knit relationships. He didn't mind much and felt bad about how Yui kept glancing at him, as if she was afraid she was insulting him somehow by leaving him out. Quite the opposite was true, in fact, such a bond between friends was rare to see and Kiso felt honored that he could just sit, metaphorically, to the side and watch them interact.

The pleasantly noisy moment felt as though it could last forever, but with a long clang the bell jutted its way in and all conversation stopped, lost in the horror of possibly being late for class. Then the silence erupted, with frantic goodbyes and nice to meet yous given to Kiso as the group rushed off.

In the chaos Kiso noticed he was alone only several seconds later and also that he was lost. The halls stretched on into infinity, empty of anyone who could perhaps help him. He looked around stupidly, searching for something, a ghost maybe, that would tell him where to go.

A minute or so passed thusly when, like a light from the heavens, a door behind him swung open and a shaft of glorious sunshine slanted in over the floor at Kiso's feet. He felt a paparazzo, kneeling with his too-expensive camera, at the foot of a red carpet, waiting for the celebrity to come out of the limo.

Reality lived up to his fantasy in full, going as far as to plant a tall black stiletto over the threshold. This one was quickly met by its partner, and Kiso's eyes ghosted gently up mile long legs, slender but muscled, and the bottom of a typical uniform skirt.

The boots didn't stop to give stockings a turn even once, going all the way up the girl's thighs. The pink top was open and hung to the girl's sides in pointy edges, revealing her white undershirt. The blue ribbon was twirling through her light blue nails, but with a sigh exhaled through perfect red lips the offending item made it into a large silver briefcase she carried in one hand despite its apparent weight.

Kiso must have made some sort of noise because the girl suddenly looked up, her long chestnut hair swinging around behind her back. Kiso's feet stopped moving and he was surprised to find he had been trying to run away. To his eyes the girl was perfectly normal if abnormally beautiful yet his instincts were tearing between fight and flight like a cornered animal.

She approached him, brilliant blue eyes, just slightly deeper than Kiso's own, piercing into him. She stopped about a foot away, a respectful distance. He felt strangely torn between wanting her further away and as close as possible. Her lips opened.

"What are you doing here?"

The words were calculated, strong. Kiso found himself helpless to do much but respond immediately. He bowed deeply to her and held out his hand.

"Kiso Mertas. I'm a new student and I'm afraid I don't quite know my way around yet."

The girl huffed, refusing his hand.

"Setsuka Kaiba. Your schedule. Give it to me."

Kiso's hands reached into his bag and handed over the item but his brain was still trying to catch up. Setsuka was a relatively common name but had she said Kaiba? THE Kaiba? He had seen the Dragon Princess in several duels, ok, that wasn't quite true, he'd seen her in many, many duels, but never in such a normal looking outfit. Maybe that was what had kept him, somehow, from not recognizing his all-time favorite duelist.

Setsuka tended to go more for power outfits: lots of metal, lots of sharp lines, and always very tight. Several opponents had called her style "sexy" in interviews, but those were opponents Setsuka had beaten with particular gusto. They stopped saying so afterwards.

Kiso had always admired the woman's way of speaking with her cards rather than trying to appease anyone. It was a lifestyle he secretly wished he had the reckless abandon to copy.

He also admired her no-nonsense attitude and approach towards life. Setsuka was arrogant, but rightfully so, and despite the passion displayed often in her duels with Yui, she always had her priorities straight, hurrying away from duels to work meetings or even forfeiting in the middle to help out her younger sister.

She hadn't always been that way, in fact several opponents in her early career had described her with words more like "cruel," "heartless," and "drastic," but Setsuka had really cleaned up her act as an older teen, it was rumored, because she lost several poisonous influences in her life. Coming from a rather unstable childhood himself, Kiso had always seen her as a role model.

Now here she was, leaning altogether much too close to him, running her finger down his schedule to find his first class. Thankfully his ears stopped being as starstruck as the rest of him just in time for Setsuka to begin talking again.

"Your first class is Japanese history. Room 239. That's just down the hall, up the stairs, and to the right."

She pointed.

Then she seemed to pause for a moment, looking Kiso up and down once before adding, "Any room beginning with a one is on the first floor, a two is the second, and so on."

She finished her impromptu instruction session with that, turning on a matte black heel and clacking off down the hall, hair swaying as she went. Kiso was left destroyed in her wake, just shaking with amazement and happiness for a multitude of reasons.

He did end up making it to the class on time, sliding into a seat across from Yui of all people. She gave him a brilliant smile as he snuck in, commenting on how lucky she must be to have a class with him. With anyone even a tad less earnest Kiso would have seen it as manipulatively sweet rather than honestly kind.

Katsu was also in the class, but further to the back, as were Azaki and Haruka. Kiso did his best to concentrate, especially when the teacher asked him to introduce himself, but the whole class passed in a blur, Kiso feeling much too pressured by the presence of his heroes.

The small group of friends left the class together and in their rush actually swept up Kiso this time, placing him right in the middle and helping him on to the next class, which they also had with him.

Kiso paid a bit better attention to this one and had high hopes for being able to hear the entirety of the third period lecture. He did, and ate lunch with the entire group on the roof. It was a popular spot, but the other students left them to themselves, probably out of respect for Yui's prowess.

They all had their lunches open and were eating happily when Katsu started in on Kiso. Her questions came fast, Kiso struggling to keep up with her pace.

"Where are you from, Kiso?"

Kiso took a bite of sandwich, swallowed, and answered.

"I lived in England before I came here."

He didn't volunteer any extra information but Yui picked up on what he left out.

"You remember don't you, Jounochi? The winner of The Queen's Tournament?"

Katsu nodded sagely.

"Yep."

She turned to Kiso.

"That was quite a final move, man. Nice job."

Kiso flushed and took a bite of apple to delay his response.

"I'm glad you think so," was his final statement.

Azaki cocked his head to the side.

"Do you not think so?"

Kiso sucked in a sharp breath. Azaki was sharper than he had given him credit for.

"I-It was luck. I just trusted my cards."

Everyone's eyes lit up at that. Yui leaned forward.

"Does that mean you believe in the heart of the cards?"

"The what?"

Yui's shoulders slumped a little.

"The heart of the cards, the idea that if you believe in your cards they will give you what you need to win."

Kiso laughed loudly, but found that was the wrong move as the look Katsu gave him was murderous.

"No, I don't, sorry. I just practice a lot. The harder I work, the more I win. I suppose that's what I believe in."

Yui looked a bit disappointed, but she brightened a bit as the talk went on. Katsu jumped back in.

"So how old are you?"

"Sixteen, but I'm almost seventeen."

"Do you have your license then?"

"Not my drivers, but I do have a motorcycle."

Haruka whistled.

"So do I. Nice."

Kiso gave her an approving nod.

"Do you know your way around Domino yet?"

Katsu asked.

"Not really, just how to get home."

Azaki smiled.

"We'll show you around. Maybe we can meet up when you're settled in."

Kiso nodded. The group dropped him off at his first class after lunch, all of them leaving for a different class, and the first sight Kiso laid his eyes on when he walked in was Setsuka. No one had came back from lunch yet, not even the teacher. The fierce girl was completely alone.

She was also asleep, her hair spread in a wave across the surface of the desk, waving over the hidden shape of her pale arms, which were folded under her face. She had turned away from the sun so it lit only the sharp outline of her cheekbones, throwing her long lashes into shadow.

Her small breaths pushed her hair outward then back, but even in this vulnerability she was powerful. It was just her aura, and the way her legs were still crossed at the knee under the desk, the spiked heels resting on the floorboards. Kiso felt if he tried to disturb her in any way, she would pull a knife out of her boot and sleeptalk her way through threatening his life.

Yet reality rang its gong harshly in his head and he had to enter the classroom. He did so as quietly as possible, taking the seat next to Setsuka, as it looked so new it must have never housed another student. He set his bag gently on the ground and laid his own head on his arms, staring straight ahead. He felt lazy, the afternoon sun striping his arms through the window blinds.

On a whim Kiso glanced over at Setsuka, his eyes the only part of his body to move. She was still asleep, breathing deeply and evenly, probably even dreaming. Kiso wondered what of the many busy events in Setsuka's life were making her this way, so tired she was sleeping in class.

As he stared at her face her nose suddenly scrunched up and she grimaced, eyes crunching closed tighter. Kiso lifted his head up a little. Setsuka continued to make strange faces, her lips opening and closing over unheard words. The disturbance spread to her shoulders, shaking them up and down a bit and twisting her waist in her seat.

Kiso leaned closer and finally judged the discomfort in Setsuka's expression for what it was. She was having a nightmare, or rather, a daymare in these circumstances. Kiso could hear the thundering of students in the halls, coming to class, and guessed Setsuka probably wouldn't want anyone seeing her like this. So he defied all of his instincts and shook her shoulder gently.

Her eyes shot open and her nails wrapped tightly around his wrist. She focused on him with several blinks.

"What are you doing?"

Kiso flushed.

"Y-you weren't sleeping well. And class starts soon."

In the face of her sharp eyes the statements felt like weak excuses. But she nodded just the same and released him.

"Thank you," she commented curtly.

The teacher came in soon after so Kiso was lucky enough to avoid the awkward silence. The class came and went, nothing of note occurred. It did seem that Setsuka was called upon an awfully frequent amount of times, but she answered with fluidity and conciseness every instance, not bothering to question herself for a second. Kiso was not quite so articulate, but he was always right, and if he wasn't mistaken, this talent got him a couple of approving nods from Setsuka.

She swept out of the classroom with the release bell, moving much too smoothly for a woman in heels, and Kiso didn't see her for the rest of the day. He did bump into the gang, in bits and pieces, but chose not to tell them about Setsuka.

The rivalry between Katsu, Yui, and Setsuka was well-known and well-documented. Also, he knew that if he mentioned her name Katsu would go off on her and after how long he'd admired Setsuka, Kiso wasn't in the mood to hear anything against her.

He left the school at the final bell, accepting reluctantly a couple of offers to hang out with the gang, and now he found himself spread out on his bed, contemplating the shock of everything he'd experienced that day. He turned onto his side, sighing.

No matter how surprising it had been to meet Yui and the others the one event he couldn't get out of his head was proving to be the most annoying. He knew he recognized them, but try as he might he couldn't remember where he'd seen Setsuka's eyes before.

 **Author's note: I hope everyone enjoys this chapter. It is only told from Kiso's perspective but hopefully the next one will be from Setsuka's. Thank you for reading and, as always, please R &R. I'd especially love feedback on whether Setsuka and Kiso seem in character despite their genderbends. **


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